Ship of Immortals
by Joshua The Evil Guy
Summary: Voyager is a ship of Immortals, and only the Captain knows everybody's secrets. But when an old enemy of hers shows up and disables her ship, she decides to reveal not only her own immortal secrets, but the rest of the crew's as well.C/7 P/T multi X-over
1. The Truth is Revealed

**STAR TREK: **_Voyager_

"The Immortal Ship" 

Disclaimers:        All characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" herein mentioned or represented are property of Joss Whedon, creator and writer of the original Buffyverse, and Mutant Enemy Productions.  All characters mentioned of the television show "Charmed" are technically owned by the executive producer Aaron Spelling and however many writers they got for that.  All characters, scenes, stories, events (maybe), and setting from "Star Trek: Voyager" are original creations of the great and powerful, (and mournfully and woefully dead) Gene Rodenbery and is produced by Rick Berman.  Concept of Immortality is "Highlander" and belongs to whoever wrote that first and currently holds producing rites.

Inspiration:  Well, I'm certainly not the first to say that Harry Kim is a vampire from Sunnydale, and maybe not the first to say B'Elanna Torres and Chakotay are both Immortals, but I feel confident in my placing Captain Kathryn Janeway as an altogether _other_ type of immortal.  Also important to note, if anybody actually takes the time to read this they will see that this is an entirely original story that is meant to be fit into the show's timeline a few weeks before the series Finale.  The only ideas I took from other stories or shows are mentioned above.  But as for inspiration for Harry Kim being a vampire; that mostly resides in Paradox761's "Magic & Science".

Spoilers:               Voyager episodes: "Endgame"  "Natural Law" "Homestead" "Sacred Ground" "11:59" and "Unity".

                                Buffy episodes: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" "Prophecy Girl" "Graduation Parts I and II" and "The Gift".

                                Angel episodes: "Birthday" and "Waiting in the Wings".

                                Charmed: just all the wedding episodes, however many there may end up being.  

**Chapter One:**The Truth comes out.

_"Captain's Log: Stardate: 54953.4  _(three weeks before series finale "Endgame")

          _Seven years.  We've been in the Delta Quadrant for seven years.  We've lost people, made friends, and discovered more than quite possibly any star ship in the history of the Federation since the early _Enterprise_ models.  After my recent adventure with the Doctor, I've decided to take it easy for a while.  On a more general note, B'Elanna Tor…Paris is coming close to term and she and Lieutenant Paris are expecting any day now.  I'm sure that everyone is anxious for the new crewman of _Voyager _to arrive_.  _End log."_

          The command crew of the USS _Voyager_ was at their stations and other than maintaining the ship's systems, monitoring the scanners, and traveling the course home, everything was perfectly normal.  Ensign Harry Kim at Operations, Lieutenant Tom Paris at the Helm, Crewman Seven of Nine (also known as Annika Hansen) at the Science console, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok at Tactical, and Captain Katherine Janeway at the Conn with her First Officer, Commander Chakotay to her left.

          At the moment, Tuvok was going over the Security reports for the morning, Ensign Kim was monitoring the ship's functions and keeping an eye out for anything strange to appear on the sensors, hopefully a wormhole to get them home faster.  Seven was attempting to locate "strange things" using the Astrometric sensors.

          Chakotay meanwhile was trying his hardest not to look back at Seven directly behind him and attempted to look busy by just idly tapping on his console and staring very intently at it.  Janeway meanwhile was going back and forth between reading the PADD in her hand, to staring off into the space shown on the view screen.

          In short, all was normal aboard _Voyager_.  Until that very moment…

          A sudden urgent beeping startled everyone out of their respective "zones" as Harry responded immediately, bringing up what had appeared on sensors.  Seven too pulled up the data on her console.  The data displayed a quantum subspace fissure forming approximately three hundred kilometers directly in front of the ship.

          "Captain!" Ensign Kim shouted.  "Some kind of subspace quantum fissure just appeared out of nowhere approximately three hundred kilometers in front of us!"

          "All stop!" the Captain instantly ordered.  Tom stopped the ship the instant that the words were out of her mouth.

          "Ensign Kim?" the Captain asked, planning on the Operations officer to have the answers she was suddenly needing to protect her ship.

          "I'm not too sure yet Captain!  It…it looks like a quantum displacement field…but that's supposed to be impossible!" Harry said.

          "It appears to have formed straight out of subspace," Seven added.  "It will be entering the visual spectrum in…twenty seconds."

          As soon as the former drone said those words, several strange things happened all at once.  Seven felt a sudden stabbing pain in her head, and then her vision blurred for several moments before she closed her eyes, yet the moment she did so, it seemed that her vision had cleared because she could see once again.  What she was seeing and how she was seeing it however were beyond her knowledge though.

          Everything was a grainy, greenish gray color, if it could be described with color.  Mostly it was images, feelings, sensations, as though she were experiencing a very vivid memory.  If it was, then she did not like what she was remembering.  Before her, in a corridor of _Voyager_ that looked like something had exploded in it, lay Tom Paris and his wife B'Elanna.  What was strange was that she was no longer pregnant.  What was disturbing was that she had a rod of duranium, the hull plating, shoved through her upper torso.  The entire deck around her was covered in her half-Klingon half-human blood, as was Tom as he held onto her hand and begged for his wife not to leave him.  He prayed that she would make it while constantly shouting for help up and down the abandoned corridor.  Seven noted the section number before just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain in her head had lessened a great deal and she opened her eyes and was on the Bridge once more.  She also had a slight ringing in her ears, but it soon faded.

          The same time that Seven was distracted, outside the ship, a large red…what could only be described as a tear in space appeared in front of the _Voyager_.  At the moment that the quantum tear could be seen, a sudden and massive power drain darkened the lights and reduced life support to 10% and leaving weapons, shields, and engines completely down.  B'Elanna down in Main Engineering noticed the power drain and set about correcting it, getting the engines and shields back up as top priority.

          The moment she was plunged into darkness a sudden and familiar change took place in Captain Katherine Janeway.  "Red Alert!" she shouted out, immediately the emergency red lights came on at her command.  "Mr. Kim! Status?"

          "The quantum event seems to have emitted some kind of dampening field, draining our power.  Life support is at 10%, shields, weapons, engines, and most primary systems are down.  Engineering is working on the problem." Harry reported.

          The captain nodded.  She seemed to think for a moment before turning her attention to the Tactical station.  "Tuvok, options?"

          The dark skinned Vulcan paused in his computations for several moments, thinking.  "I have none at this time Captain.  Without weapons or maneuvering thrusters we are, as the saying goes, "sitting ducks." Tuvok answered.

          "Now's not a good time to develop a sense of humor Tuvok," Chakotay muttered next to her.

          "Mister Paris, do we have anything?  Thrusters, Impulse, maybe even warp?"

          "Sorry Captain," the helmsman said.  "Harry's right, we've got nothing."

          "Captain!" Harry shouted again.

          _'Remind me to talk to him about shouting on the Bridge,'_ Janeway thought to herself.

          "What is it Mr. Kim?"

          "I-I, we're being hailed Captain."

          Janeway's face scrunched in confusion, with a touch of hope.  Could it be another ship that had seen them in trouble and come to help them?  Or was it possibly something worse than this new predicament?

          "From where Mr. Kim?" she asked.

          Harry looked up at the auburn-haired Captain as he answered her question with a deadly serious face.  "From the quantum fissure."

          Everyone turned and gave the ensign a look of disbelief.  All except Janeway, who had her "battle" face on.  Standing up, the Captain nodded to her Operations officer and stated clearly in a command voice, "On screen."

          The second after the command was given, the red scar in space was replaced by the head of a very human looking creature.  In fact so human-like that you might even call him human.  But you shouldn't.

          He was human, and by absolutely any means a handsome one.  He had long dark hair, lightly tanned and well shaven skin, and his eyes were both blood red.  They seemed to have an insane and dangerous look in them.

          The Captain, standing to greet whoever had hailed them, suddenly threatened to fall flat on her ass, as her eyes widened in near-complete-terror at the face on the view screen.

          "Hello honey, miss me?" the man asked in an accent that could be nothing other than old English.

          "Sulliyane!" Janeway hissed, terrified.

          The crew became slightly disturbed that their normally well-composed Captain was almost coming apart at the seams and knew whatever had frozen them in place and contacted them.

          "Oh goody, you remember me!" the person squealed.

          "Captain?" Chakotay ventured.  Kathryn made a shushing motion behind her back.

          "Oh captain, is it?" the man suddenly exclaimed.  "Now that's quite a step up from the last time we met…uh, what is it you call yourself these days dear?"

          Kathryn gathered herself back together and hardened her face that it naturally seemed to fall into whenever a crisis threatened her ship, yet there was a glint in her eyes that seemed to add a touch of…resolve to it.  "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship _Voyager_.  Release my ship at once or I will be forced to destroy you Sulliyane."  The threat itself was uncommonly dark for even the emotional Captain Janeway, yet the tone that accompanied it…sent chills down everyone's spine.

          The Englishman on the screen just smiled sarcastically.  "Oh come now…Kathryn is it?  Do you mind if I call you Kathy?"

          Janeway's face hardened a few more hairs as she snapped out, "I'd sooner paint myself blue and do the Macarena!  Release my ship!"

          "Oh pish posh Kathy, you know me.  Just as I know you.  You know there is absolutely no way in the entire realm of Hades that I'm going to let you go after I've spent so much time preparing for you." Sulliyane said cheerfully.

          "I've been planning this little trap for weeks now.  You know I looked for you on Earth.  You weren't there!  Then I expanded my search to the entire Alpha quadrant.  Not a hair!  So I just traced you aura and low and behold, here you are in the Delta quadrant!  It took me two months to catch up to you.  I must say Kathy, you've led me on a very merry chase.  So many unknown races that you've discovered, come across, and my word!  You've even stood up to the Borg Queen.  Now _THAT_ is something to notice!"

          Any trace of calm or even serious demeanor left Kathryn's face as one of pure rage covered her expression.  "Shut up you piece of English garbage!  Let go of my ship NOW!  I may look like any other mortal Sulliyane, but I am still as powerful as I was then, and I have in fact grown stronger.  NOW _RELEASE MY **SHIP!!**_" a boom sounded throughout the ship and even into space, somehow causing the subspace rift to tremble.

          Sulliyane looked a bit less cheerful all of a sudden.  "To quote a once written girl, 'I'd sooner kiss a yellow bellied cow's ass!'  The cheap intimidation factor is not going to be enough this time, _Kathy_!  Since I seem to be the one that holds the majority in that favor."

          Kathryn gave the evil man another cold glare, then turned to Harry and made a motion.  He cut the transmission.

          "Janeway to Engineering!  B'Elanna, anything?" the Captain begged.

          "I'm sorry Captain, I don't know what the hell is going on!  The Engines, the Antimatter reaction, the fusion generators, they're all working perfectly fine.  The power is there, and as near as I can tell, it's all getting to where it needs to be, there's just nothing happening.  I've managed to get life support up to 15% by redirecting the working power flow from currently unused decks.  As for weapons, shields or warp?  I'm sorry Captain…I-I…I don't know what's wrong.  It _should_ be working.  It just isn't."

          Kathryn's eyes narrowed as she listened to her Chief Engineer's report.  "It's all right B'Elanna.  Keep trying."

          Janeway turned back to the screen just as it flickered back on of its own accord.  "You put a spell on my ship you bastard!" she lashed out before the man could even say a thing.

          He just grinned degradingly at her and answered, "What did you expect?  Like I said Kathy, I know you, and you know me.  What's say we have a spot of tea and talk about old times?  Whaddya say?"

          The Captain just walked back to in front of her command chair, and stood there.  Finally, after a few seconds, those that knew her best could tell from her expression that she had come to a decision over…something.  Surprising everyone, she tapped her commbadge again and snapped out in her "authority" voice, "Lieutenant Harris LaVelle, report to the Bridge immediately.  That is an order!"

          "Calling in reinforcements Captain?" Sulliyane teased.

          Chakotay jerked suddenly, as though he had heard or felt something that not only surprised him, but seemed to make him just as tense as the Captain had become.

          "As a matter of fact…" Kathryn let the statement hang in the air for about twenty seconds, until the Turbolift doors suddenly opened.  Out stepped a young officer in the black uniform with gold/yellow shoulders, his pips identifying him as once belonging to the Mauquis crew.  He was about 5'9", rather lanky in appearance, had black hair, cut short but not a crew cut or skull cap, and had chocolate brown eyes.

          "Reporting as ordered Cap…" the Lieutenant halted his speech as he saw the image on the view screen.  His eyes narrowed, and his face shown the same rage that the Captain had earlier displayed.  "Sulliyane!" he hissed.

          "YOU!!" Sulliyane exclaimed, surprised to see another apparent familiar face.

          "This is your last chance Sulliyane, release us…or else!" Janeway threatened again.

          "I will kill you Slayer!  I swear it!" all traces of pleasantness leaving the being as he expressed the same rage that the other two humans had at seeing one another.

          Kathryn sighed.  It almost always came down to this.  Kathryn closed her eyes and for several moments just stood there breathing, gathering strength for whatever she was about to do.  Seeing as nobody on the Bridge had _ever _her seen their Captain behave like this, they had no idea what was going on.

          Thirty seconds later, Janeway opened her eyes, and those that could see her face gasped in fear.  Her eyes were giving off an otherworldly greenish glow.  That was nothing when she suddenly began to chant in a language nobody except two had ever even heard before.  As each syllable left her mouth, the air on and around the ship changed drastically.  When her voice reached a shouting volume, Sulliyane yelled something, for her to stop, but her own voice drowned his out.  Two moments later, there was a blinding flash that did not emanate from any one place, and by the time that it had disappeared, everything had changed.

          Well, not everything.  Just the most important things.  The ships systems came back to full power, the red tear in space had disappeared, and Sulliyane's face was gone from the view screen.  All that and the Bridge crew's opinion of their Captain.

          "Captain?" Chakotay asked again, as he noticed that she was suddenly looking very tired.  His concerns were proved to be true as she suddenly rolled her eyes back in her head, closed the lids and dropped to the floor like the strings had been cut from her.

          Before anybody could even subconsciously _think_ about reacting, the Lieutenant that the Captain had called to the Bridge, Harris LaVelle, jumped over the railing and caught the woman before she was even halfway to the floor.  Picking her up easily in his arms, he looked over at Ensign Kim at Operations and shouted, "Ensign, do we have transporters?"

          Startled, Harry shook himself out of his funk and checked his readouts.  "DO WE HAVE TRANSPORTERS?!!" Harris bellowed.  Shaken, Harry could barely concentrate enough to see his console, let alone read it.  Finally, "Yes," he barely got out before Lt. LaVelle began issuing orders to the computer.

          "Computer!  Emergency Transport!  Two to Sickbay!!"  He and the Captain disappeared in the sparkle of four blue lights.

          "What the hell was that all about?" Tom asked.

          Chakotay just stared at the spot where the Captain and the Lieutenant had disappeared.  "You don't want to know Tom," he said aloud.  _And I don't think that I do either,_ he thought to himself.

_*                  *                  *_

          In Sickbay, the Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) was just coming back online after suddenly being inactive due to power loss.  "What just hap…" he started to ask to himself as an emergency transport caught his attention.

          The moment they materialized fully, the Doctor was fully professional.  He noticed that the unconscious woman in the young man's arms was Captain Janeway.  He directed the Lt. to place her on the Main Bio-bed as he picked up a medical Tricorder and began to scan his "beloved" Captain.  As the scans came back negative, he made some minor adjustments, and this time when he saw the results, he just sighed and turned to the officer.

          "Mr. LaVelle, I'm surprised to see you here," the Doctor said in his almost haughty English-like tone.  "I never expected to see you in Sickbay beyond the "normal" mandatory check-ups.  After the last time, I didn't expect to see you ever again.  _Ever_ again."

          "I'm just doing my duty for the safety of my Captain Doc.  So spill, how is she?" LaVelle asked, trepidation present in his voice.

          "The Captain is just fine Mr. LaVelle.  All she needs is twelve hours rest and sleep." The Doctor answered him.  "Now would you mind ever so much as to telling me what just happened?"

          Harris LaVelle just stood there, statue-like, for several minutes.  After one minute, he jerked in surprise at something, and an expression like a trapped animal's appeared on his face.  The Doctor was about to say something when Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Commander (Lt. Cmdr.) Tuvok opened the door into Sickbay and quickly entered.

          "Doctor, how is she?" Chakotay asked immediately.  Tuvok, stoic as ever, went around to stand behind Lt. LaVelle.

          "She's fine Commander," the Doctor assured.  "She only needs at least twelve hours sleep, which I will be more than happy to accommodate for her here in Sickbay."  If they didn't know any better, they'd say that the Doctor was angry with the Captain about some thing, the way he said that.

          "Can you determine what happened to her to cause her outburst on the Bridge?" Tuvok asked monotone.

          "Well I might if somebody told me exactly what happened just now?" he said.

          "Sorry Doctor," Chakotay apologized.

          "Sulliyane."

          "What?" the Doctor asked, a note of surprise on his face.

          They all turned to Harris.  "It was Sulliyane," he said, staring directly at the Doctor.

          Apparently the Doctor understood whatever Harris was trying to convey, because his face suddenly lit up, though not with pleasant emotions.  "I understand.  What did he do?"

          "Whatever it was, he opened some kind of Quantum displacement in subspace that somehow disabled all of our systems, leaving us with little more than 10 to 15 percent Life support.  Then the Captain just lost her temper and damn near exploded at this person and after Harris here arrived on the Bridge, her eyes began to glow green and she started speaking in Ancient Greco Latin.  I couldn't follow all of her words though." Chakotay answered.

          "You recognized the language the Captain was speaking Commander?" Tuvok asked, as much surprise as it ever gets in his voice.

          "Yes," he answered shortly.

          "Well there's not much more we can do about it, is there?  So why don't you three go on and go back to your stations, since I'm sure that the Captain won't be waking up any time soon.  I'll be sure to inform all of you, if you wish, when she wakes up.  And Lieutenant, I was wondering if you could stop by later this afternoon for that physical that you've been putting off?" the Doctor ushered them out.

          "Uh…" Harris was at a stump as the Doctor just shoved him out into the hallway with the two senior officers.

          "I am curious Lieutenant LaVelle," Tuvok said.  "Why is it that Captain Janeway called you specifically to the Bridge when this…Sulliyane refused to give into her demands?"

          "I've been wondering about that myself," Chakotay added his two cents.

          That look of a trapped animal reappeared on Harris's face as he looked back and forth between the first and second officers and backed himself up against the wall.

          "Uhhh…  Oh boy," he muttered.

          Finally he just settled on the truth.  Just not all of it.  "Well, it's kind of obvious.  We both met Sulliyane.  He's evil, that much I can tell you without the need to convince you.  As for why the Captain reacted the way she did…well let's just say that it goes beyond just personal.  I don't know the exact details, but…Sulliyane's evil.  He…he hurt someone very close to me, and I can only guess what his and Janeway's story is, but I can assure you gentlemen, it ain't pretty."

          Both men nodded, accepting the story for the moment.

          "Tuvok, you'd better take over on the Bridge.  Harris and I need to discuss some…things." Chakotay told the second officer.  Tuvok just nodded and left.

          "Am I in trouble Commander?" Harris asked like he was in the Principal's office.  Though his look said he was feeling pretty cocky at the moment.

          "Not as much as I am," the Commander told him.  "Come on, we need to talk"

          Harris just nodded and followed the Commander where he led.

          On the Bridge, Harry Kim stood at attention the moment that he heard the Turbolift doors open, expecting it to be Commander Chakotay, instead it was Lt. Comdr. Tuvok.

          "Commander," Kim greeted with a nod of his head.

          "Ensign," Tuvok likewise greeted.

          Harry turned away from the command chair and went back behind the Operations console, the officer there leaving for another station.  "Have you had any success in discovering what happened to the Captain, or what the phenomenon that disabled the ship's systems?" Tuvok suddenly asked.

          Sighing, Harry shook his head, though Tuvok couldn't see him.  "No.  At least nothing that could be directly responsible.  Seven went down to Astrometrics to see if she could find out anything strange going on in subspace.  As for the Captain, I have no clue…well, no real clues, only hunches."

          Tuvok, curious, turned in the chair and stared back at the ensign.  "Hunches?"

          Harry just shrugged.  "Never mind.  You'd just think it was silly."

          "May I remind you, Mr. Kim, that I am a Vulcan.  I do not feel or think of things as "silly."  Yet, all the same, what are your…'hunches'?" Tuvok monotoned.

          Harry, suddenly looking sheepish, shrugged as he struggled to form his thoughts into words.  "Well…the Captain mentioned something about a spell, then her eyes start to glow and she's shouting out some…litany in a language no one has _ever_ heard before, that the Universal Translator can't even begin to decipher…"

          "You are incorrect Mr. Kim.  Apparently Commander Chakotay not only understood what the Captain was saying, but also identified the language.  I believe he said it was a dialect called "_Greco Latin._"  Attempt, if you can, to find the language and run it through the Universal Translator to decipher what the Captain said that caused that…Sulliyane, to not only release us, but to disappear as well." Tuvok ordered.

          "Uh…sir?" Tom Paris spoke up.

          "Yes?" Tuvok answered.

          Tom turned around in his pilot seat at the helm, and looked the dark-skinned Vulcan in the eyes before continuing.  "Sir…that…_Sulliyane_ wasn't the one who moved sir.  We did."

          Tuvok's brows knit together, to indicate the logical being was troubled.  "Please elaborate."

          "We are over ten light years from our last known position.  Whatever the Captain did, it wasn't to attack or even to counteract whatever that creature did to us.  It literally moved _us_ over ten light years away from _him_.  Or whatever it was." Tom answered.

          Tuvok's brows stayed knitted.  "What is your evidence of this?  And how can you be certain that the Captain's…spell…had anything to do with it?"

          Tom just shrugged.  "Other than the fact that the sensors say we're ten light years away from where we were just attacked, and that I have been trying to move the ship since the systems came back on-line, and we haven't even drifted a centimeter."

          "Curious," the Vulcan stated.

          A sudden beeping came from the Operations station, and the other two senior officers on the Bridge looked back at Harry to see if there was going to be any more trouble.  Harry looked down at the source of the beeping, saw that it was the translation of what the Captain had said to the man on the screen.  He pulled it up and read the script first.  His features paled, paler than he naturally was.

          "What is it Harry?" Tom asked, concerned.

          "The-uh, the translation of…Captain Janeway's…spell," Harry said haltingly.

          "Can you play it back translated, Ensign?" Tuvok asked.

          "Uhh…I'd rather not Tuvok," Kim then bayed both Lieutenants over to his station.

          Both furrowed their brows and walked back to the Operations station.  When they read what she had said, Tom couldn't help but say, "Well Tuvok, you weren't kidding when you said the Captain's spell, now were you?"

          In Chakotay's quarters, where the Commander had led Harris LaVelle, the two men just stood their staring at each other for the length of time that it took the doors to the quarters to close.  Then, they waited for one entire second.

          Chakotay grabbed the lower ranking officer by the collar of his uniform and slammed him painfully into the sound proof wall of the room.  He even did it a couple more times before actually saying anything.  Harris didn't fight, just let him do what he needed, but when Chakotay was looking about to slam him a fourth time he put up his hands as though to say that he would not like the Commander to do so, again.

          Instead of slamming him, Chakotay got real close to his face and said in a manner that radiated threat, "All right, _Lieutenant_, start talking.  I want to know why the Captain is in Sickbay right now, why she called _you_ specifically to the Bridge when that…thing showed up, and I want to know _what_ in all the hells of all the planets in this universe, that _thing_ that both you and Kathryn recognized was!"

          "Could you let go of me first?  I find that I can recall information a lot easier when I haven't been slammed repeatedly into a duranium wall and am being held three inches off the ground by a commanding officer.  Commander," Harris replied rather smoothly, lacing every syllable with sarcasm.

          Glaring hard at his former "pilot" Chakotay carefully put the Lt. back on the deck and stepped away.  Harris nodded and fixed his uniform some, taking a couple steps towards the Indian.  "Thanks, that's much better," he said in a cheery note.  Then he punched him.

          "Please don't do that again," Harris requested nicely as he sat down on a spare seat in the quarters.

          "Been working out?" Chakotay asked as he took the seat opposite, rubbing his jaw.

          "Not really.  I work in Security now, remember?"

          "Right.  So are you going to tell me what I want to know, or do we go back to the threatening?" Chakotay asked, a look in his eyes saying that he wouldn't mind that.

          "The creature's name, as he introduced himself, is Sulliyane.  It's a long story.  About four hundred years old, if you get my meaning." Harris began.

          "How old are you again?"

          "About 414 or so," Harris answered easily.

          "So you met this thing _before_ you became Immortal?"

          "Wellllll, yes and no.  Yes in the fact that I had met a _part_ of Sulliyane before I became Immortal, but Sulliyane himself didn't show up until a while after.  It's hard to explain _what_ Sulliyane is without telling a whole lot more.  _Who_ he is, that's a bit easier." Harris tried to explain.

          "Sulliyane is insane, first and foremost.  He was insane four hundred years ago he's insane now.  As for how he's still alive, ya got me."

          "Is he an Immortal?  Like us?" Chakotay prompted.

          "No.  He's something else.  I don't understand how he can still be alive.  The last time I even had to think about that monster…I thought he had already been destroyed.  Sulliyane…well he's actually two different people, brought together to be one.  He's _fused_.  The primary, last that I was aware, personality of his went by the name of Ethan Raynes.  An insane Chaos mystic that only cared about himself and getting more power.  The other half was actually a pretty stable guy.  His name was Edward Sullivan, a curator of the British Museum during the beginning of the millennium.  He also dabbled a little dangerously into the occult and dark arts.  Do you believe in magic Chakotay?"

          Surprised by the sudden question, Chakotay took several moments to think of his answer.  Finally, after all that he had experienced, at home, in the Alpha quadrant, here in the Delta quadrant.  "Yes, I do."

          "Good.  Ed and Ethan got together, planning on attaining the ultimate power that both the human mind and body could ever attain, by combining their bodies.  They performed some kind of fusion spell, and the result…was E. Sulliyane.  He…_it_ was the most powerful mage slash sorcerer slash evil wizard that had ever existed before.  His body was the pinnacle of human perfection, he could do stuff that genetic engineers could only ever dream about, even in this day and age.  Seeing that he's still alive, after trying to vaporize him with magic back then, I don't think there's anything that can kill him."

          "Why he was after the Captain?  I have no idea.  How she could recognize a 350-year-old evil wizard?  You'll have to ask her when she wakes up Commander.  I don't have a clue." Harris finished.

          "How is it that you come to believe in magic Harris?  Most Immortals I know won't believe in anything more than what society already believes in.  Except Immortals and the Game of course." Chakotay asked.

          "Oh that is bullshit and you know it!" Harris responded aggressively.  "The 'Game' was a crock from the beginning.  I only ever took four heads, and each of them challenged me I might add.  Ever since the Vulcans and the end of the wars, there has not been one single Immortal duel.  They're all spread too thin!  Most aren't even on _Earth_ anymore, and a few left the Federation and Alpha quadrant years ago!  As for me believing in magic?  Well, I've seen it work, don't need much more proof than that, do I?"

          "No, I suppose not," Chakotay agreed, drooping his head some.

          After several minutes tense silence, Harris volunteered, "Wanna go to the holodeck to work out?" he asked.  By the way he phrased "work out" Chakotay knew what he meant.

          The eight hundred year old Indian nodded his head and they left the Commander's quarters and headed straight to holodeck three.

Please Read & Review, thanks for reading.


	2. The Truth Awakens

**STAR TREK: **_Voyager_

"The Immortal Ship" 

Disclaimers:        All characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" herein mentioned or represented are property of Joss Whedon, creator and writer of the original Buffyverse, and Mutant Enemy Productions.  All characters mentioned of the television show "Charmed" are technically owned by the executive producer Aaron Spelling and however many writers they got for that.  All characters, scenes, stories, events (maybe), and setting from "Star Trek: Voyager" are original creations of the great and powerful, (and mournfully and woefully dead) Gene Rodenbery and is produced by Rick Berman.  Concept of Immortality is "Highlander" and belongs to whoever wrote that first and currently holds producing rites.

Spoilers:               Voyager episodes: "Endgame"  "Natural Law" "Homestead" "Sacred Ground" "11:59" and "Unity".

                                Buffy episodes: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" "Prophecy Girl" "Graduation Parts I and II" and "The Gift".

                                Angel episodes: "Birthday" and "Waiting in the Wings".

                                Charmed: just all the wedding episodes, however many there may end up being.  

**Chapter 2:**  The Truth Awakens.

          The next day, twelve hours after the Captain's collapse on the Bridge, and the crew's encounter with "Sulliyane," the Doctor was just entering the main area of Sickbay to see Kathryn trying to get to her feet already.

          "Captain!" the Doctor exclaimed, rushing forward to force the Captain back to the bed.

          Janeway held up her hand to hold him off for the minute it took her to get into a comfortable sitting position on the bed.  "Yes Doctor?" she asked in a tired, yet patient voice.  The EMH just glared at the commanding officer of _Voyager_ as she stared back at him with obvious curiosity as to why he had yelled at her.

          Instead of lecturing on how she shouldn't rush herself and she needed rest above all else, he just muttered with a dead voice, "You used your magic again."

          Rather than giving any "normal" reaction to the Doctor's accusation, like calling him crazy or displaying shock, the Captain just hung her head a little and nodded slightly through her blush.  The Doctor sighed deeply and picked up a medical Tricorder, made some adjustments, and ran the handheld probe over her body several times.

          "All right, lets hear it," Kathryn muttered.

          "Hear what?" the Doctor sarcastically remarked.

          "The lecture.  Should not endanger the crew, should not push yourself, should get more rest, should never use my magic as anything but a last resort…"

          "I know that it _was_ a last resort," the Doctor interrupted.

          Janeway looked up at the hologram in curiosity and surprise.  He explained.  "I know that it was Sulliyane that caused you to resort to your magic.  Obviously he never expected you to cast it in such a way as to move the entire ship and then cloak it."

          "Have we moved any since…"

          "No.  And I can tell you it is driving B'Elanna up every wall in the ship.  Chakotay, Mr. Paris, Mr. Tuvok, and half the crew are trying everything and a miracle to try and get us underway again.  I've chosen to remain silent as such."

          Kathryn took a desired sigh of relief.  "Giles," she commanded.

          The hologram in front of her flickered for a moment as the programmed subroutines suddenly took precedence.  The Doctor stood frozen for thirteen seconds before he suddenly shook himself and looked at the Captain as though seeing her for the first time.  His expression and mannerisms though were exactly the same.

          "I suppose I should start gathering the necessary supplies to wipe the crew's memories," he said seriously as he started to walk off.

          "Giles?" Kathryn asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice.

          The hologram immediately turned back to her.  "Yes Kathryn?" he asked, sounding like a caring father figure.

          "I…" she stuttered.  "I don't want to wipe their memories again.  They…they deserve to know at least some of my secrets.  After all, I know all of theirs."

          The Doctor, that Kathryn had called "Giles" stepped closer to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  "I understand your desire to…"come clean" but think about what the long term effects would be.  The crew, particularly those that know you best, might never be able to fully trust you again.  This is a big secret Kathryn, and not something that is a secret for no good reason.  A few, such as Chakotay and Tuvok, might understand, but others will be genuinely hurt."

          "Like Xander," she muttered, her voice dead, her eyes stuck to the floor.

          "For one example.  Seven and Mr. Kim for others.  Particularly Mr. Kim if you tell him _everything_.  When were you planning on telling them?" the Doctor asked.

          "As soon as I can.  I don't like telling them any more than I didn't like _not_ telling them Giles.  But with Sulliyane on my tail…  They have to be ready.  They have to understand what is happening and what might be at stake.  I just wish…" Kathryn trailed off.

          "That we were already back on Earth?" the Doctor put in.

          The Captain didn't stop the laughter that came to her throat and she nodded through the tears that resulted because of them.  They were interrupted when a tone chirped from the door, indicating that someone was outside asking to come in.  "Doctor," the Captain ordered, reverting the hologram back to its original state.

          "It's open," Kathryn called out before the Doctor could respond.

          The doors to Sickbay hissed open, revealing the three officers that were quite anxious to come in and speak with the Captain.  Chakotay, Tuvok, and Harry Kim filed inside, Harry biting out at the Doctor as he came in, "So Doc, how's the patient?  Been chanting in any Greco Latin dialects recently?"

          "Very funny Ensign," the Captain answered for the holographic MD.  "I'll have you know that I only chant in Greco Latin while I'm dancing naked around a bonfire and howling at the full moon.  I _speak_ in Greco Latin when casting a spell."

          Harry looked like he had just swallowed a photon grenade as he stuttered to apologize to his Captain.  "Cap-captain, I-I…I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that…"

          "That I was awake and fully healthy?" Janeway finished for Kim.

          She stood up and stepped in front of her three officers.  "Other than feeling a little tired, I'll have you know that I am perfectly fit for duty, just as the Doctor here was about to inform you.  Isn't that right, _Doctor_?" the Captain turned to give him a meaningful look.

          The Doctor only nodded, but still looked annoyed.  "If you're going to tell them, now's probably the best time you'll get.  I'd hate to have to be called away from Sickbay just to reattach you're head Captain." He bit out on his own as he went back into his office.

          The three officers looked at the auburn haired woman in confusion at the hologram's statement.  "What's he talking about Kathryn?" Chakotay asked.

          _'Kathryn, not Captain'_ fluttered through Janeway's mind as she knew Chakotay well enough to realize that when he used intimate terms, he wanted nothing but the truth, no bullshit games.

          "I'll explain later.  Right now I need to know, have we moved any since I collapsed on the Bridge?" Janeway looked almost desperate for the answer.

          Tuvok, exhibiting as much worry as a Vulcan ever can, answered her, "Negative Captain.  We were actually going to inform you of our progress in assessing the cause and nature of our problems of late.  Yet it would appear that you are already aware of both the problems and their cause."

          Janeway just nodded as she led them out of Sickbay.  "So we haven't moved?"

          "No Captain," Chakotay answered this time, walking behind her down the corridor, "We haven't.  Not a single centimeter to quote Tom.  B'Elanna's driving herself up every wall in the ship trying to get us to move."

          Kathryn laughed, noting that Chakotay and the Doctor used the same terms.  She also took a sigh of relief that only Harry noticed.  As they entered the Turbolift, the Captain ordered, "Well you can tell her to stop trying Commander.  I'll explain everything in a moment, but for right now I need you to call together a senior staff meeting for in the next ten minutes.  And include Lieutenant Harris LaVelle as well.  He will have some input himself I'm sure."

          "Of course Captain," Chakotay responded immediately.  "I've already debriefed Harris personally, and I concur in his addition to your explanation.  I'm sure that it'll answer questions on all fronts."

          "Indeed," Tuvok added.  Janeway was silent.

          Eleven minutes later, the Senior staff plus one were in the conference room, all anxiously awaiting the awakened Captain's orders, not to mention the explanation for her behavior yesterday.  Lt. Harris LaVelle was actually curious as to why he would even be here, but he got his answer very shortly as the Captain opened the meeting with a simple greeting.

          "Hello everyone," she started.  "I'm sure that you're all concerned over what happened yesterday, and no doubt you are curious as to what has happened to the ship.  Well I think that it is time for some answers.  And not just to these questions…but to others that have been a long time in waiting for answers."

          "Captain?" Tom asked, usually the first to open his mouth, when in his humble opinion, his commanding officer was going insane.

          The Captain took a deep sigh, trying to collect enough strength to tell them what she had to tell them.  Finally…she went with the direct approach.  She looked straight at Lt. Harris and said flatly, "Hello Xander.  It's been a long time."

          Harris's eyes widened in fear and shock as his name from four hundred years previous was uttered by a woman that he had fully trusted with getting his ageless carcass home.  He began to look for the easiest way out, unfortunately at the moment that appeared to be by killing himself and waking up in the morgue.  Finally he composed his thoughts enough to actually think about responding.

          "Uhh…how do you know that name?" LaVelle cautiously asked.

          Kathryn gave him a warm smile and said five words that turned his universe upside down and inside out.  "Sunnydale.  Slayer.  Watcher.  Witch.  Summers." Janeway stated.  Her voice was monologue, but the warm smile only seemed to get bigger with each word.

          LaVelle meanwhile was looking like he was having a heart attack.  Finally he just gasped out, "How?"

          Kathryn lost the smile and closed her eyes and looked down, trying to hide her face symbolically.  When she looked up, everyone was surprised to see tears running down her face.  "Rosenberg-Summers," Janeway said a single name.

          Finally, it all clicked with Xander.  All of it.  Sulliyane, the spell the Captain had cast, and dozens of other things that he had noticed in the seven years since meeting the woman.  Slowly, he stood up and continued to stare at the woman that he had called friend for much longer than seven years.

          "Buffy…?" he hissed in silent awe.

          He was greeted by Kathryn's warm smile, though she was still crying.  "A part of her.  Or I think I should say…she's a part of me."

          Xander let out a heaving sob as the truth was realized.  Slowly, his feet unsteady, he made his way around the conference table until he was standing in front of the Star Fleet Captain.  She stood up herself and he wasted no more time as he gathered her up in a giant bear hug and they just held each other.

          The rest in the room were completely perplexed as to what was happening, though Chakotay had some idea.  He knew that Harris's real name was Xander, or at least that's what he preferred among his close and personal friends, that also knew his secret.  Yet he was at a total loss as to what could be making both him and the Captain act like this.

          Seven meanwhile was just trying to understand it all.  Over the past twelve hours she hadn't been able to focus as she normally could.  Her thoughts kept drifting back to the strange…"vision" she'd had on the Bridge, just before the subspace rift had formed.  And now this…

          "Uhm…Xander?" Janeway tried to croak out.  "Oxygen becoming an issue!"

          He immediately released her and nearly cried for joy.  "It really is you isn't it!"

          She just smiled up at him and silently nodded.  "We have to tell them Xander.  Tell them everything.  _Everything_.  You understand?" Kathryn asked.

          Xander just gave her a lopsided grin and asked, "I just have one question.  Mind if I stay and watch the fireworks?"  To which she just started laughing near hysterically.

          Seven, becoming slightly irritated, interrupted, "Captain.  I believe that I speak for all those in this room in asking that you explain your behavior and how it is that you know Lt. LaVelle, and why you keep calling him Xander."

          Janeway, still smiling, pats Xander on his arm and he in turn pats the hand on his arm just before he goes back to his seat to sit down.  "Of course, my apologies Seven.  I know Xander, because that's his real name, because we met in Kindergarten."

          "Excuse me Captain!" Tom exclaimed.

          "Can I tell them?" Xander asked, the lopsided grin now with a mischievous hint.

          Janeway mimicked the look and shook her head slightly.  "No, I think I want to.  It'll be worth it to see the looks on their faces."

          "Captain, enough with the suspense already," Chakotay said, "How do you know Xander, and most importantly, how do you know Sulliyane?"

          The Captain immediately sobered.  "I know Sulliyane the exact same way that Xander does Commander.  But I also know that hell spawn a little more intimately at the same time.  You see…Sulliyane killed me…389 years ago, 390 in four months."

          The looks of confusion and disbelief were obvious and traded around the room faster than a starship could go at maximum Warp.  Except for Janeway and Xander, who both wore identical lopsided grins.  Finally Chakotay decided to risk everything and just stated, "You're an Immortal?"  That stopped everything in the room for about five seconds.

          Kathryn shook her head to the negative.  "No, I'm not an Immortal Chakotay.  But I _am_ immortal.  You said that you and Xander already spoke?"  Chakotay nodded.  "I'm fused," she simply stated after that.

          Xander's mouth then dropped straight through the deck.  "So _that's_ how Sulliyane is still alive?  The fusing makes you immortal?  Well damn, wish I'd known this four hundred years ago!"

          Now everyone was looking at Xander.  When he finally noticed, he started to get a bit uncomfortable and said defensively, "What?"

          Kathryn just giggled a little, bringing attention back to her for the moment.  "So who are you _fused_ from?  Xander said that Sulliyane was from an insane Chaos mage and an evil Museum Curator.  Who were you before you were Kathryn Janeway?"

          Kathryn shrugged.  "I've been lots of people Chakotay, just as you, Xander, and many others like you have been.  I've been a Janeway for the past three hundred years ever since I married into the family.  I've been Kathryn for just over twenty years now."

          "Go ahead and tell 'em Buff, I'd love to see the looks on their faces when you tell them.  Too bad Giles isn't around anymore or he could explain it all for you." Xander teased.

          "Who's Giles?" Chakotay asked.

          "Old friend," Kathryn and Xander responded at the same time.

          Instead of continuing, the Captain just tapped her commbadge, "Janeway to Sickbay."

          "Sickbay here Captain, what can I do for you?" responded the Doctor.

          "Report to the conference room as soon as possible.  Oh, and Doctor one more thing."

          "Yes?"

          "Giles," she ordered one last time.

          "I'm on my way Kathryn," everyone noticed the sudden change in the Doctor's attitude.

          Xander looked up at Kathryn in what could only be described as shock.  "You didn't!"

          She just smiled in reply.

          Xander groaned as in the next minute the Doctor came into the conference lounge with his mobile emitter.  He walked around so that he was standing beside the Captain, while Xander remarked, "Well at least he's not wearing tweed."

          "I'll choose to ignore that remark for the moment Mr. Harris," the Doctor responded rather haughtily.

          Xander looked almost betrayed at the Captain.  "You told **him** my real name?"

          Kathryn repressed her laughter as she answered, "Xander, you are Mr. Harris the same way that I am Miss Kathryn.  Isn't that right, _Giles_?"

          The Doctor gave the woman in front of him a gentle yet humoring smile before just nodding in reply.  "What is it you needed Kathryn?"

          "Since when did you get on such personal terms with the Captain Doc?" Tom rudely interrupted Janeway's answer.

          "Since I activated the subroutines that allow him to treat me more as a friend that he knows everything about rather than an impersonal doctor who only knows me as a caring commanding officer," Janeway snapped at Lt. Paris.

          Nobody said anything until the Doctor spoke, explaining exactly what the Captain of the starship _Voyager_ had called him there for.  "To begin with, I suppose I had best start with the basics.  I don't suppose anybody here is familiar with ancient mythology or urban lore of Earth?"  No replies from those seated, though both Xander and Kathryn hid smiles.

          "Right.  Do the terms vampires and demons ring any bells?" the Doctor called Giles asked with a patient tone.

          Harry Kim started in his seat and began to look extremely nervous, and Chakotay arched a single eyebrow, but nobody else gave any real reaction.  "Vampires?  Aren't they supposed to be immortal, drink blood, live in coffins and hypnotize women to do their bidding?  Like Dracula?"

          "Only you Tom would note that they control women," B'Elanna said to her husband.

          "Well actually…" Harry started to say, but the Doctor interrupted him.

          "You are correct on two points Mr. Paris," the Doctor said.  "Vampires are immortal and they do require sustenance in the form of blood.  Most are also considered to be inhabited by demons, making them…quite dangerous and for lack of another term…bloodthirsty.  Demons, denizens of Hell, something that cultures throughout all species share in one name or another, can come in any number of forms, but their primary mission or goal or just purpose in life is to kill life.  Doesn't really matter.  Usually the life of the primary species of the planet or culture they originated from, but for now we'll say they want to destroy humanity and everything associated with it."

          "Hundreds of thousands of years ago, possibly even a million years ago on Earth, demons reigned supreme and hunted and killed and basically…chaos ruled.  Then…they just left, to make room for mortal animals…for man.  Yet they still left vestiges of themselves.  Minor demons, portals to the demon dimensions they had run to, and to a lesser degree, even vampires.  To counter this…humanity had to evolve of sorts.  Certain individuals had to champion the rest of humanity to fight against the demons.  One type of these champions, were the Slayers.  Girls, often no older than fifteen given superior strength and other abilities to fight and hunt the demons and vampires."

          "Only one Slayer could be chosen each generation, so when one died, another was called.  And then there came the Watcher's Council…" the Doctor was saying.

          "Let's leave that out of this for the moment please Giles," Kathryn asked.

          The Doctor merely nodded and continued.  "Another type of champion chosen to fight the ancient evils of Earth, the demons, was an entire race of humans called…Immortals.  Immortals are ordinary humans and ironically, they are not limited to humans alone.  According to my occult database, three individual races have Immortals in their cultures and champions against their individual demons and hells.  The Humans, the Klingons, and the Bajorans.  For humans, Immortals are foundlings, raised by either adoption or in orphanages.  For Klingons, the trait of an Immortal is passed down through bloodlines, and very randomly can appear in some descendant of Kahless or one of his brethren."

          B'Elanna, who had never heard any of this about her people, interrupted.  "What!  What does Kahless have to do with anything?  And _vampires_?  Immortals?  _Demons?_  Doctor, what the hell has the Captain done to your programming?"

          The Doctor chose to ignore her for the moment.  "As for Bajorans, they choose to group Immortals into clans, and a new Immortal can only be born when two _matched_ Immortals have a child."

          "Giles, B'Elanna asked a question," the Captain pointed out as he finished.

          The Doctor nodded and smiled and turned to look at the half-Klingon Engineer.  "I'm sorry I ignored you Lieutenant.  But I can assure you, all the Captain has done is included a database involving all of these creatures and their various histories.  And I admit that it does all sound farfetched, however there is proof Lieutenant."

          "Proof?" B'Elanna's disbelief was etched into her voice.

          Kathryn sighed.  "It always comes to this," she muttered to herself.  "I'm sorry to say that you might have been right Doctor."  The Doctor suddenly flickered as his original subroutines took precedence once again.

          Suddenly looking rather guilty and like he just got his hand caught in the cookie jar, (as he normally did when he felt he might be in the wrong about something embarrassing) the Doctor said, "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about Captain.  I'm right about many things, which one in particular were you speaking of?"

          Janeway just closed her eyes and chuckled softly.  "Xander, if you would please?" she asked, her eyes still closed, her voice sounding tired.

          Chakotay sat up in concern.  "Kathryn, are you all right?" he asked quietly so only she should be able to hear him.  She just quietly nodded and opened her eyes to see Xander standing up, a small sharp piece of metal that might or might not be a knife, depending on its use.  "Doc, I just hope you can control yourself over there," Xander said just before he took the metal to his hand and cut a deep gash into his palm all the way to the wrist.  Blood instantly started pooling in his hand and even dropped a couple of drops onto the table.

          "Oh my god!" B'Elanna screamed.

          Tom stood up and was about to rush to him, when Seven standing up blocked his way.  "Doc, you've got to do something!" he settled on ordering, as he couldn't do anything himself.  The rest at the table only looked on in a sort of shocked morbid interest.

          "Just watch the wound," the Doctor ordered in response to Tom's plea.

          Automatically, everyone's attention was drawn to the blood on Xander's hand.  The blood flow had already halted and as they continued to watch, small bolts of energy flowed in and around the cut as some of the blood was drawn back into the wound and it began to coagulate and scar over right before their eyes.  Even after the open cut had been closed, the energy still danced around it until there was nothing but healthy unbroken skin there.

          "It's a trick!" were the first words out of the Engineer's mouth.

          "Are you an alien that has advanced healing capabilities?" Tuvok asked.

          Kathryn herself shook her head at that.  "No Tuvok.  Immortals are either Human, Klingon, or Bajoran.  Xander is one hundred percent human, save that he's four hundred years old."

          "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but how exactly can you be sure of that Captain?" Tom asked.

          Janeway just shrugged in her seat.  "Because we grew up together in Kindergarten."

          The entire command crew stared in disbelief at the woman they all thought they knew.  "How is that possible?" Tuvok asked.

          Janeway shrugged.  "It's a long story Tuvok."

          "Well, seeing as we're going to be here a while as we can't go anywhere, I say let's hear it!" Chakotay said.

          Janeway gave him a humoring smile and said, "All four hundred years of it?"

          Chakotay smiled and shrugged himself.  "I've got the time if you do.  But I think we'll settle for the highlights."

          Kathryn just nodded.  "Thank you for your help Doctor, since you already know the whole story, you don't have to stay if you don't wish to."

          The Doctor nodded.  "Thank you Captain, I do have patients that I must attend to.  If you need anything else…well, you know."  And with that he left as fast as his holographic legs could carry him out of there.

          Once the Doctor had left, Kathryn once again shrugged in her seat.  "Well, where do you want me to begin?  I'm sure that you are all curious to see whether or not I've lost my mind, but again, I can assure you that there is accurate proof of everything that I tell you."

          "How did he do that?  It's some kind of trick!" B'Elanna shouted from her seat, where Tom had barely managed to force her back into.

          Janeway shook her head.  "I'm sorry B'Elanna.  It's no trick.  It's all very real.  Over the years, Immortals have actually submitted themselves for study, in hopes that they might be able to save lives of people they cared about by granting a piece of their immortality to those who might need it.  All the scans ever turned up was that they were all perfectly fit specimens of their respective race.  For humans, there is the Quickening, which Xander can explain better than I can, for Klingons, its called Sha'Rae.  The Bajorans however just call their immortality a blessing from the Prophets, as they have never fought among their Immortals.  Humans and Klingons have fought."

          "What are you talking about?  Make sense!!" B'Elanna exploded.

          "First, before you continue Captain," Chakotay interrupted, "I'd like…Xander," the Commander paused to get confirmation from Xander to use his true name, "to repeat what he already told me so that the rest of us can understand what you say when you're fused."

          Kathryn nodded.  "Good idea Commander.  Lieutenant?"

          Xander lost his sardonic grin and placed his face into the stoic expression of a well-trained officer.  "Of course Captain," he replied professionally.  "Believe it or not everybody, I really am four hundred years old.  I was born in the year 1981 in a small Southern Californian suburb called Sunnydale.  Sunnydale had a habit for attracting the weird and demonic, first and foremost among them, vampires.  But until Buffy, the Slayer for my generation, came to town, I had no clue that demons and vampires even existed as real.  I learned to keep my mind open after that."

          "Around 2004, two men that were both enemies, decided to get together.  The first I was very familiar with.  His name was Ethan Raynes, he was an insane Chaos mystic, and if you don't believe in magic B'Elanna, how else do you explain the Captain, by words alone, moving us ten light years and freezing a star ship to a single point in space?" Xander confronted the half-Klingon non-believer.

          After he got no response, except that Mrs. Paris looked down rather than at him, Lieutenant LaVelle continued, "The other was a curator of the British Museum, then named Edward Sullivan, that delved heavily in the dark arts.  They got together and using magic, _fused_ their bodies and minds to create one _perfect_ body.  He was stronger than absolutely anything you can imagine, his mind was the most advanced that human intellect has, or possibly could ever reach.  Not to mention the level that his magic had reached."

          "The only way that we, Buffy, me, and several of our other friends that helped us, could figure out how to stop E. Sulliyane was to do the exact same thing he had done.  Fuse our strongest bets in order to fight him.  The obvious first choice was Buffy, who was the Slayer and physically strongest out of all of us.  It was the person that she would fuse with that was the problem.  It had to be female, as both parts of Sulliyane were male, the person to fuse with Buffy had to be a woman of similar stature, age, and of course capable of balancing her out."

          "Balancing?" Seven spoke up, her curiosity piqued despite the situation.

          Captain Janeway answered.  "It has to do with a person's nature as well a physical qualities Seven.  Sulliyane for example, Sullivan was more physically able than Raynes, while Raynes' magical talents far exceeded Sullivan's.  Also, Sullivan was a tad bit more balanced that Raynes was, though still somewhat obsessed.  In the end, they balanced each other out, so they fit together into one form, creating a balance between them."

          Seven of Nine nodded, "I understand," she said.

          Xander nodded as well and continued.  "Anyway, in order to stop Sulliyane…Buffy had to fuse with the one person in the world that perfectly balanced her.  The person in question never even hesitated in her decision.  My best friend since kindergarten, Willow Penelope Rosenberg.  She was the most powerful witch in Sunnydale, and had, at one point, stood up to a demon god and came out winning.  She and Buffy had been best friends since they had met, and they actually complemented each other in a way.  When one was in a crisis, whether it be demonic or personal, the other was always there.  I argued against it, so did the first Giles, who was like a father figure for all of us.  But they did it.  Buffy and Willow fused…into an angel."

          "Well, not a literal angel…but she was to me.  And no offence Kathryn, if I may call you such, you've certainly let yourself go in recent years." Xander commented casually.

          Kathryn smirked.  "Actually, it's a side-effect of the spell.  As you probably noticed, Sulliyane looks only slightly different from when he did back then.  While I had blond hair, green eyes and was noticeably taller, that was only for a day or so.  A day or so that we used to track down Sulliyane and have a showdown with him."

          "We thought we lost you," Xander said quietly.

          Kathryn shrugged.  "I'm not going to waste time in telling the whole story, but the gist of it is this, after the fusing is completed, the strongest traits of the strongest aspect of the fused are more prevalent.  After one day…the fusion is complete and thus the need for balance.  All of the qualities of those involved reach a certain level where they are equal.  That's what happened to me."

          The Captain continued, "The fight ended with me taking a gamble and trapping E. Sulliyane in another dimension of space.  I knew that he'd eventually get out, but I had hoped that he'd die before he could do so.  Imagine my surprise…when I couldn't separate after the fusion had completed…and I didn't die.  Which meant that Sulliyane didn't die."

          The conference room was quiet after that brief statement of fact, nobody had any idea of what to say.  Except Seven.  Something was nagging at the back of her mind, pointing out a series of facts that led to a question that had not yet been answered.

          "Captain," she got everyone's attention.  "You spoke of…Immortals, and how they are common among several races, and how each views their Immortality?"

          Kathryn nodded.  "Yes?"

          "Well then, what is it that makes them…the same type of Immortal, since you yourself are immortal yet are not an _Immortal_?" Seven asked.

          Janeway didn't bat an eye.  "By the way they become Immortal of course," she answered shortly.

          "Which is?" Seven prompted.

          Kathryn Janeway hesitated for a moment, casting questioning glances at both Chakotay and Xander.  Finally, "They die a rather sudden and painful death, then revive."

          Seven started at that.  "I'm not sure I understand," Seven's voice wavered a bit.

          Kathryn creased her brow in concern.  "Seven…what happened?"

          "I'm sorry?" the ex-Borg jumped.

          Really concerned now, which was shared by the rest present, "Seven, you're nervous about something, I can tell.  What happened?"

          Seven really looked nervous now.  She cast a terrified glance at the pregnant B'Elanna Paris before returning to look at the Captain.  "Seven?" Chakotay asked in a rather tender tone.

          "Some…something hap-happened yesterday on the…Bridge when Sull…the creature attacked," Seven began, uncharacteristically nervous.  "I…I was at the Science station just before the quantum subspace rift opened.  Then…I felt a…ringing in my head.  When I closed my eyes in attempt to focus past the discomfort…I, something happened."

          "It's all right Seven, tell us what happened," the Captain comforted.

          "My vision…changed.  It appeared to be more…more like my sight through my optical implant.  Yet I was not seeing the Bridge.  Instead it was a damaged corridor of _Voyager_ on Deck 11.  There was debris everywhere and…" Seven stopped.

          "Seven?" Tom tried, concerned for the woman.

          Seven of Nine seemed to be bracing herself, or gathering strength to say what she had seen.  After another moment or two of the tense silence, "I saw Lieutenants Tom and B'Elanna on the deck.  Lieutenant Torres had a spike of duranium sticking through her chest, and lay dead on the deck.  Lieutenant Paris was weeping over her body."

          For a moment, everyone was shocked at what the former Borg drone had said.  B'Elanna and Tom were the first to recover however.  "What the hell is wrong with you people!!" B'Elanna exploded, standing up from her seat, Tom at her heels.

          "B'Elanna," Chakotay whispered, "It's all true."

          Those three words from a man she trusted not only with her life, but with a hell of a lot more, froze the half-Klingon stiff.  Chakotay continued, "I know it sounds unbelievable, but its all true.  I know, because I'm an Immortal as well."

          "You Commander?" Tuvok intoned.

          "Yes, Tuvok, me.  I'm 800 years old.  Or nearly.  I lost count after I left Earth as soon as warp driven colonies were available.  For those of you who had rumors of me being an original Indian, well, you were right.  I was Schuemash once upon a time.  And as with the Captain, I don't feel like telling my life story.  I just thought you'd all like to know that I believe her…and Seven."  Chakotay smiled at the blonde across the table from him.  She blushed slightly and nodded in return.

          "This is ridiculous!  Chakotay I can't believe that you are…" B'Elanna was shouting.

          All noise in the room stopped as Kathryn held up her right hand.  Even the vibration of the ship's systems seemed to quiet at that one motion.  Kathryn was still staring in concern at Seven of Nine, and as everybody noticed the strange quiet that had settled, and B'Elanna wondered why she had stopped speaking, the Captain just kept staring at the blonde.

          Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Kathryn dropped her hand and sound returned to the room, and B'Elanna finished her sentence…sort of.  "…saying that…" she stopped when she realized what had happened.

          Everybody turned to look at the Captain, while she just kept looking at Seven of Nine, who was beginning to get uncomfortable under the scrutiny.  "Seven, if I asked you to, what is the best word that you can find to describe what happened to you yesterday on the Bridge?"

          Seven starred uncomprehendingly at Janeway for several seconds before her face took the nature of deep thinking when Seven tried to find a difficult answer as fast as she could on the spot.  After a minute, Seven answered, "A…hallucination?"  Janeway shook her head.  "What if I told you it was real?"

          Before either Tom or B'Elanna could respond, Janeway put up her right hand again, this time in the couple's direction, but kept her stare on Seven.  The blonde hesitated before answering, "A…vision?  But I don't understand how…"

          Janeway lowered her hand and just leaned back in her chair.  It was time to move on.  "Harry, it's your turn," Kathryn interrupted what Seven of Nine was saying.

          The Ensign started and looked about ready to throw himself out an airlock.  "Excuse me Captain?"

          "You heard her Kim," Xander snapped.  "Your turn."

          "Just show them Harry.  Xander, Chakotay, the Doctor and I all know, and if we've told our secrets…you will tell yours.  Is that understood?" Captain Janeway ordered.

          Harry's conflicting emotions shown on his face, until he just seemed to deflate and then he only looked defeated.  He nodded and sat straight in his chair.  Then his face changed with a growl.  His brow was knotted and malformed, like a Romulan's, but looked more wrinkled.  His eyes had changed from puppy dog brown to a demonic yellow with black pupils, and his teeth seemed sharper…like a Ferangi's, or a wild animal's.

          "Thank you Harry," Captain Janeway said, standing to her feet.  "Now if you don't mind, I need to get some more rest, and then we can get underway once more.  B'Elanna, don't try and move the ship anymore, it's just putting undue stress on the ship's systems."

          And with that, Kathryn Janeway walked out of the conference room and went straight to her quarters where she planned on spending another four hours of sleep.

Read and Review please.  No garbage.  Flames tolerated, garbage is not.


	3. The Truth is Known

**STAR TREK: **_Voyager_

"The Immortal Ship" 

Disclaimers:        All characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" herein mentioned or represented are property of Joss Whedon, creator and writer of the original Buffyverse, and Mutant Enemy Productions.  All characters mentioned of the television show "Charmed" are technically owned by the executive producer Aaron Spelling and however many writers they got for that.  All characters, scenes, stories, events (maybe), and setting from "Star Trek: Voyager" are original creations of the great and powerful, (and mournfully and woefully dead) Gene Rodenbery and is produced by Rick Berman.  Concept of Immortality is "Highlander" and belongs to whoever wrote that first and currently holds producing rites.

Inspiration:  Well, I'm certainly not the first to say that Harry Kim is a vampire from Sunnydale, and maybe not the first to say B'Elanna Torres and Chakotay are both Immortals, but I feel confident in my placing Captain Kathryn Janeway as an altogether _other_ type of immortal.  Also important to note, if anybody actually takes the time to read this they will see that this is an entirely original story that is meant to be fit into the show's timeline a few weeks before the series Finale.  The only ideas I took from other stories or shows are mentioned above.  But as for inspiration for Harry Kim being a vampire; that mostly resides in Paradox761's "Magic & Science".

Spoilers:               Voyager episodes: "Endgame"  "Natural Law" "Homestead" "Sacred Ground" "11:59" and "Unity".

                                Buffy episodes: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" "Prophecy Girl" "Graduation Parts I and II" and "The Gift".

                                Angel episodes: "Birthday" and "Waiting in the Wings".

                                Charmed: just all the wedding episodes, however many there may end up being.  

**Chapter 3:**     The Truth is Known.

          Just before she left the Conference Room, Chakotay caught Seven and pulled her to the side to speak privately with her once everyone else had left.  Kathryn just gave them a sly look as she slipped out, while Xander quirked an eyebrow at the other Immortal, but said nothing.

          Once they were alone, Seven gave him her confidant yet confused look and asked politely, "What is it you needed to speak with me Commander?"

          Chakotay decided to play this cool.  The past seven years aside, hell even the thirty before that where he had been in Star Fleet and the Academy, it had been a _long_ time since he had done this sort of thing.  Not to mention having found the right person to even try this sort of thing with.

          "I just wanted to see how you're handling this.  I've told people about me over the centuries, and I've found that reactions often vary.  I wanted to make sure that you and I are still friends I guess." Chakotay answered calmly.

          Seven blushed as she ducked her head slightly.  "You have nothing to fear Commander.  I don't hold one's age against them." Seven smiled at the joke while Chakotay smiled broadly and chuckled softly.  "However I am curious over several facts the Captain pointed out.  I was wondering if you could help me to understand a little better?"

          Chakotay's smile broadened further.  "I would love to.  Tell you what," Chakotay said, "Meet me at Holodeck two at 1700 hours.  I know the perfect place for this discussion.  That is, if you don't object?"  Chakotay's heart began to beat faster as the idea that she might be offended or even reject him.  He had never felt so nervous.

          Seven's radiant smile immediately soothed his fears and made him feel like he could do anything.  "No, I mean, I'd love to," the blonde stuttered nervously.  "Seventeen hundred.  Holodeck 2," she confirmed.  Chakotay, grinning like a fool, nodded his head.

          "It's a date then," the old Indian couldn't help himself from saying.

          "Yes, a date," Seven found herself saying.

          They remained there, just staring at each other for several more seconds before Chakotay realized that they needed to leave, or they'd be there all day.  "Well," he stepped aside and waved his arm grandiosely toward the door, "After you milady."

          Seven smiled once again and dipped her head in thanks and walked out of the Conference room.  She headed straight for the Turbolift once it was in sight, but found herself stopped by a voice coming from behind her.  "A date, huh?"

          Slowly, Seven turned to see Captain Kathryn Janeway staring at her and Chakotay from right beside the door to the Conference room.  Kathryn's eyes twinkled a little as she walked past the stunned Chakotay and took Seven by the arm and led her to the Turbolift.  Kathryn turned back and caught Chakotay's eye and gave him a conspiratorial wink.

          "Captain?" Seven asked once the Turbolift doors had closed.

          "Oh don't worry Seven, I just wanted to talk.  See how you were handling everything."

          Seven nodded professionally and answered, "Commander Chakotay was also concerned about me.  There is nothing to worry about Captain.  You are still the same person that I have known since you released me from the Borg.  You are still my friend."

          Kathryn smiled gently, tears threatening her eyes once again at the simple statement of fact from a woman that she considered a daughter.  "Thank you Seven.  That means a great deal.  But I don't mean the stuff about me, I mean the existence of magic, vampires and Immortals.  How are you handling all of that information.  Because I know for a fact that the Borg have assimilated several true magic practitioners and possibly people who have known about Immortals.  Immortals themselves can't be assimilated, their immune system is too powerful for the Borg nano-probes to properly assimilate them."

          Seven considered this and nodded her head.  "I understand the…concepts of magic, but the Borg have never successfully recreated a magical event.  After the first failed experiment, the Borg believed it to be…a "waste of time" and forewent any further attempts to use the magical knowledge acquired by the thirteen dark mages that escaped Earth in the mid-22nd Century."

          Kathryn's face showed her surprise.  "I always wondered what happened to them.  Doesn't matter now I suppose if the Borg consider magic to be a waste of time.  What about the rest of it Seven?  Your vision of B'Elanna and Tom?"

          Seven stiffened.  She was saved from answering immediately by the Turbolift doors opening.  The two women exited and started walking down the hall to the Astrometrics lab.  Kathryn would not be denied however, "Seven?"

          Seven of Nine frowned, but kept walking.  Finally, she answered her Captain.  "It was disturbing.  I…I care for both B'Elanna and Tom.  They are good friends.  I do not want that to happen.  I…if it is a true vision of the future Captain…how can I stop it?"

          "Are you sure that you want to?" the Captain asked neutrally as they entered the lab.

          Seven nodded without hesitation.  "Of course I'm sure."

          Kathryn looked around the dome-like room before continuing.  "You said it was on Deck 11.  Where exactly on Deck 11?"

          "Section 42, corridor nine," Seven answered automatically.

          "Now Seven this is very important," Kathryn said.  "Were there any differences in the B'Elanna and Tom you saw in your vision as opposed to the B'Elanna and Tom we just spoke with in the briefing room?"

          Seven hesitated, thinking that she would not be believed now, that she would be sent to Sickbay and be diagnosed with having hallucinations.  "B'Elanna…was no longer pregnant," she finally answered.

          Instead of giving her a look of pity, confusion, or accusation as Seven had expected, the Captain just let go a huge sigh of relief and relaxed on the spot.  "Thank the goddess," she muttered unconsciously.

          "Captain?" Seven asked, concerned.

          Kathryn looked up and gave Seven a brief grin.  "Don't worry Seven.  The event in your vision won't occur until a while after B'Elanna has her child.  So I think that they're safe for at least a couple of weeks.  Right now I just need you to take some rest and get your center back.  I can't afford you to be distracted by this.  Don't worry about Tom and B'Elanna.  I'll keep an eye on them for you."

          With those final words, Kathryn left the Astrometrics lab and headed for her quarters, leaving Seven to deal with how confusing the former Borg's life had become.  Several hours later, Seven checked the ship's chronometer and left everything in the lab on automatic as her duty shift ended.  It was almost 1700 hours.

          Meanwhile, on the Bridge, Ensign Kim was doing his best to come up with an explanation for the spotlight the Captain had put on him.  He had always thought that she was looking out for him because he was the "youngest" and newest member of her crew.  Now that he knew that she knew what he was, he truly wondered.

          Harry couldn't help but feel all of the eyes of the Bridge crew were on him.  He touched his face to make sure that it was no longer the true face of a vampire, and unnecessarily sighed his relief.  After that he did his best to focus on his work, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was being watched.

          He finally realized what it was when he sniffed and looked up from his console and saw Tom Paris standing in front of him, staring at him.  Harry smiled gently, if not somewhat nervously and greeted his friend, "Hey Tom, what can I do ya for?"

          "What are you Harry?" Tom wasted no time.

          Harry coughed out a laugh.  "You sure don't waste time, do ya Tom?" Harry joked.

          Tom was unwavering in his resolve and just kept staring at the ensign.

          Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "I'm a vampire Tom," Harry said in a low voice only he and Tom could hear.

          Tom's reaction was exactly what Harry had expected, especially after the enlightening conversation they just had with the Captain and the Doctor.  Tom almost jerked back in fear, but managed to limit it to widening his eyes in shock.  "But…according to the Doctor and the Captain, vampires are demons that deserve nothing better than to be destroyed.  Harry, why…how are you a _vampire_?  Are you really a vampire?" Tom asked.

          Harry just nodded.  Then he sighed deeper than Tom thought possible and stepped away from his post and gestured to another officer to take his place.  Harry then dragged Tom with a grip that surprised even the four hundred year old vampire to the Turbolift and near shoved him inside.

          "Harry…?" Tom started to ask, but was stopped when Harry turned on him, his eyes a demonic yellow, his forehead ridged, and a growl in his throat.

          "Computer, seal Turbolift doors.  Authorization Kim Beta 2-9," Harry ordered.

          "Tom.  I am a vampire.  Yes, vampires are demons, and believe me, I know more than absolutely anybody else in all the quadrants of space that the only things vampires deserve is to be destroyed and go back to the hell they came from," Harry snapped.  "But ya see, here's the real twist in things.  About the time when the Vulcan made first contact, vampires were having the biggest ball imaginable.  The War had just ended and food, _humans_ Tom, was in abundant supply.  And if any of us got caught, we could just blame it on mutations from the war."

          "After the rebuild had started, Warp travel was starting to become readily available.  At that time, there were two Slayers Tom.  They knew that if the threat of vampires ever made it off Earth…the entire universe was doomed.  And I'm not being melodramatic Tom I'm serious.  Think about it; vampires care nothing about life and live to see and spread death.  Now think about how many human-blood compatible alien species are out there.  Those races might become vampires themselves and might be able to spread to other species the human vampires couldn't.  Doomed Tom."

          "Those two Slayers contacted the Vulcan ambassador and showed them proof of vampires and the danger they presented to the galaxy as a whole.  Then…they cast the spell."

          "Spell?" Tom asked in a quiet, meek voice.

          "The spell that cursed all vampires with their souls as long as they remain in existence.  It covered the entire world, and therefore affected all vampires on the planet, even those underground.  Hell, especially those underground.  Most of the vampires on the planet killed themselves in the first twelve hours.  Suicides continued for the following week.  Any that made it past the first month…well, they're probably still going today."

          "So what got you through it?" Tom asked in sympathy.

          Harry was silent for several moments, slipping back into his human façade.  "I had my mother and my father."

          "But they aren't your real parents…are they?" Tom couldn't help asking.

          Harry, looking like he was about to break down right there, nodded.  "My parents were turned the same night I was.  I used to have a younger brother, but he was…"(soft chuckling)"…dusted long before the curse.  It was hard Tom.  We, all vampires, had spent the better part of a hundred years, others more, doing nothing but killing and feeding off of innocent people.  And then all of a sudden…we cared."  Harry's voice broke.

          "You have no idea of the guilt Tom.  No idea.  It took all of us another hundred years, and with outside help to get past the overwhelming desire to kill ourselves.  Finally, the last of us, at last count there were just over 400 vampires on the face of the Earth, we decided to spend our immortality helping people, making right for our wrongs against humanity.  That's why I joined Star Fleet.  Initially, during the beginning of my redemption, I helped out in recovery efforts and taught at schools, helped in homeless shelters, built homes, and a hundred different ways."

          "Then when the Federation was just starting to get on its feet, we saw a new way we could help," Harry explained to Tom.  "I've been in Star Fleet before.  Security position.  Quit after my first deep space mission.  Can't tell you how hard it is to keep it a secret what you truly are aboard such a small ship."

          "Finally," Harry continued, "after more than a hundred years of development, there was a new way for vampires to help.  Apparently one advantage of having dead brains is the photographic memory.  Thanks to mages and sorcerers and witches sympathetic to our cause of redeeming ourselves, we are able to walk in sunlight, have reflections, and react to fire the same way that other humans do.  Maybe a little worse, but hey that happens."

          "So you believe in magic?  You believe what the Captain said?" Tom asked in an incredulous tone.

          Harry couldn't help chuckling a litter at Tom's tone.  "Every word of it Tom.  I should know I used to live in Sunnydale.  It's where I was turned.  As for Buffy and Willow, and Xander…well, who do you think staked my younger brother?"

          Tom was struck dumb at that statement of fact.

          Harry, feeling the conversation was over, just smiled a little wanly and ordered, "Computer, unseal the Turbolift doors authorization Kim Beta 2-9."

          "Computer, deck 12," Tom ordered before Harry could take another step.

          Harry turned to his friend of seven years now and gave him a confused look.  Tom just smiled lopsided at him and said with his usual Paris charm, "Trust me Harry."

          At the outer exit of Holodeck Two, Seven came upon the Commander waiting for her.  She smiled as she saw him and was mildly disturbed as an emotional flutter in the pit of her stomach when he smiled back at her.

          "Commander," she greeted neutrally.  "Am I late?"

          Chakotay smiled at Seven's ever so polite nature and answered, "Not at all.  I'm early.  I had to set up the scene.  It was a bit difficult, but from the descriptions you gave me, I think I got it pretty close."

          "Descriptions?" Seven couldn't help asking as they entered the holodeck.

          She gasped in surprise when she saw what he meant.  It was the waterfall from the planet Ledos, that the young Ventu girl showed her when she and Chakotay were stranded beneath a force field of unknown designs.  It was one of the few moments in her time as an individual where Seven learned to truly appreciate the beauty of the natural world around her.  She didn't remember telling Chakotay about this, or anybody else for that matter, but that was inconsequential as she moved forward in the holographic environment and sat on the "same" rock that she and the Ventu girl had.

          "It is beautiful," Seven whispered, looking at the triple waterfall, several minutes later.

          "I thought you might like it," Chakotay responded from behind her.

          "How did you-" Seven started to ask.

          "How did I know what it looked like, even if you never told me?" Chakotay interrupted.  Seven nodded her head, her eyes glued to the waterfall.

          "I asked the Ventu, and they showed me the same place," he answered.  After much time passed, with Seven and Chakotay just staring at the waterfall, Chakotay spoke once again.  "By the way, I bet you're wondering how I could have a broken leg and have infection set in if I'm immortal?"

          "That was going to be one of my questions, yes," Seven answered.

          Chakotay nodded.  He had been expecting as much and finally had an answer ready for her.  Well, not for Seven specifically, but for anyone that would ask about his mortal type injuries once they learned he was Immortal.

          "About one hundred years ago, there was a virus developed in a genetics lab.  One of the results of this virus, it prolonged the life of all humans that were infected.  Side effect number one, boils and other associated skin infections covered them.  They were in agony and would live an estimated one hundred and fifty more years in that agony.  Side effect two, when Immortals are infected with the same virus…their Immortality is completely useless.  I'm no geneticist, so I can't explain how it worked, but out of the fifty or so Immortals that died of wounds that any of us could have gotten up from an hour later, a lot of us realized what it could mean."

          "There were several Immortals that truly were thousands of years old, and they were desperate for a way to die.  Others just wanted the joy of being mortal once more.  Some thought that it would give us the ability to have children again, but that was never proven." Chakotay continued.

          "After a lot more research by a team of brilliant scientists that actually _knew_ what they were doing, a serum was developed.  This serum didn't take away our Immortality, it just slowed it down, to almost mortal standards.  About three cc's last about two weeks, and that's the optimum allowed for any Immortal, no matter their age or death wish."

          "So you take this serum on a weekly basis?" Seven asked.

          Chakotay shook his head.  "No, just every time that I go on an away mission.  Harris…Xander, never goes on away missions, so I don't think he's ever taken the serum.  Something you have to understand Seven, most of the Alpha Quadrant doesn't know about Immortals, and even more of them can't handle the knowledge.  It's happened before, and not only on Earth.  People have turned against Immortals and in fact gone as far as to kill them without cause.  And before you ask, yes, it is possible to kill an Immortal.  For us, decapitation.  Cut our heads off, well, not many can heal from that, can they?"

          "So in order to maintain secrecy, we take this serum so that we don't raise any suspicions and get some people like the Romulans or the Ferangi to turn on us and either try to kill us, experiment on us, or turn us into some kind of lower slave class.  Opposed to that, I think I can stand to get a broken leg once in a while."

          Seven nodded, her face serious.  "I understand your reasoning.  Thank you for sharing this with me."

          Chakotay shrugged and smiled at the blonde.  "Don't worry about it.  Besides, I made this program for you."

          Seven looked up in surprise.  Then with a quiet voice she whispered, "I meant…the information.  But…I, I'm not sure that I can…"

          "Just say thank you Seven," Chakotay stopped her stuttering.

          A sparkle of humor entered Seven of Nine's eye as she smiled up at him, and repeated, "Thank you Seven."

          Chakotay closed his eyes and groaned.  "Should've seen that one coming.  It's almost as old as I am."  Then he started laughing and sat down beside the blonde on another rock.  "So for our first date, how am I doing?"

          Seven looked sharply at him, surprised at his words.  She had admittedly, well only to the Doctor so far, found the Commander attractive and a very…unique individual.  Part of what first drew her to him was his steady nature that nothing could ever truly upset him or shake him in the slightest.  Perhaps it was a side effect of being Immortal, as the Captain herself had similar qualities.

          And then there were all of his other qualities that seemed to be mirrored and counterpoint to all of her own identifiable individual qualities.  He was patient, she was efficient.  He improvised, she followed order and definition.  He appreciated nature, she appreciated perfection.  He saw the good in everything first, and knew when to admit he was wrong.  Seven used to be Borg.

          "Technically, it is not our _first_ date," Seven replied, looking at him.

          Chakotay's eyes lifted up in surprise.  "Oh?  Please explain."

          Seven looked back at the waterfall.  "The away mission to Ledos, even though we were only going to a conference on Warp Dynamics, and we did have a shuttle accident that stranded us in an unknown territory, with you injured…I felt that we did account for all requirements for a "First date".  A mutual interest of occupation, time spent together, getting to know one another, and…we did share several intimate moments…appreciating the view."

          Chakotay stared long and hard at Seven.  He was amazed at how far she had come from that "Intruder" in Cargo Bay 2.  How much she had come in her individuality.  He didn't even think when his mouth said the next words.  "Want to have a third date?"

          Seven just gave him a look and a smile.  "Yes," she said simply.  "This time, however, I will plan it.  I only hope that I can, "live up" to your example."

          Chakotay smiled as the couple turned back to the beautiful scenery around them.  "Don't worry Seven.  I have faith in you that you will come up with something…truly perfect."

Thanks for reading, and yes I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but this is just "happenings" on the ship, sort of an Interlude if you will between the action.


	4. The Truth Speaks Out

**Chapter 4:** The Truth speaks out.

In her quarters, Captain Kathryn Janeway was sitting before her lounge table, her fingers steepled before her as she stared off into the empty space of her room. She had been like that since she had given up on sleep after returning from speaking with Seven. That had been nearly two hours ago.

She had made her decision shortly after her talk with Seven, and now she was just trying to gather up the courage necessary to go through with it. After nearly two hours, she had found it.

Standing up, Kathryn walked over to a hidden cabinet in her quarters behind her bed. She opened it with a combination DNA/thumb print scanner and then picked out several key items and supplies from the impressive store of arcane, occult, and witchcraft items. She closed and locked it back and then went into the other, larger "living room" and sat down Indian style in the middle of the cleared floor.

"Computer," the Captain ordered, "Seal this room, priority Hellmouth, under the Occult Directive." The computer acknowledged.

Once assured of privacy, Janeway proceeded to draw a containment circle with the colored chalks she had. Once the circle was drawn, Kathryn placed, in a specific order, the other items she had, save the last two, which both had a rare sigil carved into each. A foot-long, worn, wooden stake, and a crystal orb with the image of the sigil in the center of it. Those, she held in either hand, the orb in her left and the stake in her right.

Focusing her thoughts inward, Kathryn's world faded away to her thoughts, emotions…and memories. All of which suddenly, at her command, began to run together, mix and shift into various patterns. When it finally finished, Kathryn, dressed only in her peach cream nightgown, stood in a small forest clearing. It was foggy, adding to the dream quality of the mindscape. There was a pond surrounded by a circle of stones, a stone well, and a familiar wool blanket spread out on a tuffet of grass.

By the well, stood a graceful blonde figure. She wore a simple gray outfit, pants and a long sleeve V-neck shirt, and bare feet. On the blanket, just to the left of the stone pond, sat an elfin redhead, casually drawing circles on the water. She wore a pure white silk dress that made her seem as ethereal as the place in which they all rested.

Kathryn merely stood where she was, between the two, in the center of the clearing, waiting. After a moment, the two young women became aware of Kathryn's presence, though only the redhead turned to look at her.

"What are you doing here?" the blonde snapped. Kathryn just lowered her eyes.

"I came to ask your forgiveness," Kathryn quietly answered.

"Our forgiveness?" the redhead spoke up, incredulousness etched into every fiber of her voice. "Why would the great Captain _Kathryn Janeway_ need _our_ forgiveness?"

"Leave!" the blonde snapped. "There is nothing for you here. You will only find pain and heartache here, and we will not give you what you desire."

Janeway looked up sharply, to find both young women directly in front of her. "I desire nothing. I _want_ nothing. I do need your forgiveness. I'm sorry for what I have done to you…I wish I could change it all, but there is no way that I can see to do that. Ever since…" her voice broke for a moment, "…ever since it happened, I have tried to make up for my mistakes. I'm sorry. I can only hope that you can forgive me."

The blonde sneered. "You are only saying that so that we will have the pity you need to get what you desire. There is nothing for you here."

Janeway shook her head. "I told you, I desire nothing—"

"You desire everything!" the blonde snapped as she walked behind Janeway. She turned to follow the blonde, but the redhead's statement caused her to turn back around to her. "We have no pity for you Kathryn. After what you did to us, we thought we understood. And we did. But after four hundred years, understanding is no longer enough, and you will not get what you came here for. You desire everything, and there is nothing here for you."

"No, that's not true!" Janeway pleaded. Suddenly, she was pulled around as the blonde grabbed her shoulder, and then punched her solidly across the face.

"Don't even try to delude yourself Kathryn," the blonde retorted. "We know everything about you and more than you can comprehend. You desire everything. You need our forgiveness in order to become whole with us once more, and once we are whole, you will have all of your powers back. And ours. Everything."

Janeway was shocked. She rubbed the bruise forming on her cheek and cautiously stood to her feet. Neither female attacked her again. They just stared condemningly at her.

Janeway's eyes saddened deeply. "I'm sorry. I…I don't know what more to say," she apologized once more. Then she changed tactics a little. "You say you know everything, then you know about Sulliyane, that he's returned?"

The blonde smirked confidently while the redhead placed a look of hard resolve on her face. "We are aware," they both said in harmony. "Then you understand what's at stake! Please, the only way we have of standing even a chance against Sulliyane is if I am at full power. I cannot face him without you. Please, if only to stop him."

"It is not enough," they both said.

Janeway frowned. "I don't understand."

"Once we beat Sulliyane, then what?" the blonde inquired. "We hang around in limbo until the next time that he gets free and tracks you down? Sorry sister, I don't think so."

"Sulliyane," the redhead continued, "while a powerful enemy, and a deadly force of evil and destruction, is nevertheless at the core…evil. He can be defeated time after time, but he will always come back. Even killing yourself, or allowing him to kill you would do little good, as he is the first. He is the reason. You…we, were the result and the response. When Sulliyane is truly killed Kathryn, you too will meet your fate. The fate of all things."

Janeway looked down once again. "I know that," she said after some time. "I knew that even then. I knew that…unless I separated in the given time…if we killed Sulliyane, after that time, that I would die. I also knew that…I would be where you have been for the last four hundred years if I did. I was selfish. I know that. What I did was wrong, and I do not deserve to be forgiven…"

"Your wrong Kathryn," the blonde interrupted. Janeway looked up in confusion.

The redhead took over. "You do deserve to be forgiven. You are a good person, a powerful force of good in the universe. Have you never wondered why you have never strayed from your principles? Not even once? You do deserve to be forgiven. But in your own eyes, for what you have done to us, you think that you need to earn your forgiveness."

"It's exactly the same thing that brought us out of limbo and into your subconscious once more. Your trials to save Kes by contacting the Ancient Spirits awakened your own Ancient Spirits. Us," the blonde explained. "Exactly as then, where you chose your own trial and had to find your faith once again, you must set your own course and find the forgiveness you seek in your own eyes before we can give you ours."

The redhead turned to look at her blonde companion. "Since when did you get all philosophical Buffy?" she asked. The blonde, Buffy, grinned sheepishly back at her and shrugged. "I've had four hundred years to perfect being 'Angel of Knowledge' so what do you expect. Besides, its true Willow."

The redhead shrugged back, "Well, yeah but just because it's true doesn't make it sound any less weird coming from your mouth. Of course, we don't really have mouths here, because we don't really have bodies, only Kathryn's memories of us."

"You two haven't changed," Janeway remarked with a slight grin from her position.

Buffy turned to look at her. "And you expected us to? Just because you back stabbed us and stole our lives doesn't mean we're going to let that change us into different people. Because then that would change you, wouldn't it?"

Janeway looked down and remained silent. She had nothing else to say. Except…

"What do I have to do…to regain your trust?" she whispered. They still heard it.

"Be us," Willow answered her.

"Don't be a Captain, don't be a Star Fleet officer," Buffy told her. "Don't be a Janeway, don't be Kathryn, and above all, do not be…an adult."

Janeway looked up sharply.

"In case you hadn't noticed Kathryn, we both still look like the teenagers we were when we first met. That means that at our hearts, we still are teenagers. But then…our childhood was very short. We had to grow up on the Hellmouth; I was the Slayer and became a warrior for the light almost overnight. No matter all that we went through…our hearts stayed the same."

"You're the same Kathryn," Willow continued. "Your heart is the same as ours, because our hearts make up your heart. And all kidding aside, that makes you a teenager. No matter your outward, or even your inner appearance."

Janeway looked down at herself and saw that she did indeed view her "inner" self as the adult she was in her body, had been for nearly over 300 years. She asked again, "What do I have to do?"

Buffy and Willow just stared at her. Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, Buffy asked in an incredulous voice, "You expect us to tell you? Gawd, you really are dense. Haven't you been listening? We've already told you."

Janeway stared at them for many moments, her mind working the riddles and comments they had said around and around in her head. Finally she had a hypothesis, and she just needed to confirm it. "What you're saying is…that I need to act like a teenager in order for you to even trust me enough to bond with me once more?" she asked, sounding like they were asking her to single-handedly raise, repair, and put on display in the Smithsonian the Titanic.

Buffy just shrugged and looked at Willow, who was smiling gently at the distraught Captain. "On the contrary Captain Janeway," she answered mischievously, "In order for you to bond in the first place, you have to agree to act like a teenager, even in front of your crew. In order to _remain_ bonded with us, you have to _keep_ acting like a teenager. And if you decide to lock us away after you beat Sulliyane again, which would be more difficult than last time I'd imagine, the next time you come running with your tail between your legs, it will be something much different, and possibly more costly to you."

Janeway stared long and hard at the two teenage women represented before her, as two aspects of her body, mind, spirit, and soul. Finally she came to a decision, one that she would stick to, no matter what.

"All right," Janeway agreed stepping forward, a mischievous smile on her own face. "On one condition." The two simply waited, giving no other reaction. Janeway's smile broadened, "_I'm_ the teenager. Not the two of you. Me. Do we have a deal?"

The redhead and the blonde both smiled brightly at the auburn haired woman. They both held out their hands, Buffy her right, Willow her left. Janeway accepted both with either of hers. Suddenly, Janeway was surrounded by an intense glow that seemed to permeate not only her spirit body, but the surrounding environment as well.

When the light faded, Janeway was standing there, in her peach gown, and looking 17 again. Her long hair fell down her back in straight locks and she was surprised to see Buffy and Willow still there, holding her hands.

"Sorry," Buffy apologized for their still being present, "but we just _had_ to see _you_ as a kid. It was so worth it."

"I agree," Willow agreed.

With that said, Buffy smiled brighter, and then she too was surrounded in an intense glow that to Janeway's eyes had a yellow amberish tint to it. Willow beside her was soon just as covered in light, but more a lime/emerald green. When it looked to Janeway's spirit eyes that they were nothing more than the light, the lights suddenly stepped forward…and surrounded the teenage Janeway.

The lights danced around and even in the young woman until somehow, between the white light of the remaining body, and the lights of the other two absent ones, _mixed_ together to create a whole new color light that has no description to human eyes on the physical plane. But Janeway knew what it was.

When Kathryn awoke from the ecstasy of the bonding, she found herself dressed in Willow's long white dress, but with Buffy's simple pants and a tank top underneath them. She was still in the forest clearing spirit world. She walked over to the pond and stared at the reflection that was shone. She was her teenage self all right. And somehow, Kathryn felt…right about it. She giggled, something the Captain hadn't done in a _long_ time.

She enjoyed herself; doing things that one can only do in the spirit world before she decided that it was time to return to her body. She found her way back quickly, and was surprised by several things at first.

The first was the amount of time that had passed. Not even thirty seconds had passed since she had started putting herself into the trance. The second was that her hair, which she'd cut some time ago, had grown to nearly waist length! And the third…a beautiful white dress, next to some rather decent selections of workout clothes lain neatly spread, or folded on her couch.

Janeway stood, not noticing or caring that she now moved with a poise few ever achieve, and a strength that could not easily be rivaled. She gently felt the fabric of the clothes and didn't dare to stop the smile that spread across her face.

"Thank you," she whispered to the air. But if she didn't know any better, she'd swear that she heard a faint laughter answer her.

Only a few hours later, at the beginning of the early morning shift, which normally Chakotay took, Captain Kathryn Janeway, looking very different from her normal professional self, walked onto the Bridge like a gust of spring wind. Literally.

Harry Kim suddenly sat straighter when he heard the Turbolift approach the Bridge, and was about to stand at attention to turn the Bridge back over to the Commander, when they already opened and Harry caught whiff of a scent he hadn't smelled in over a hundred years. Perfume.

Slowly, cautiously, Harry turned around to look at the new arrival to the Bridge. His look stopped, and turned into an outright stare. And he wasn't the only one. All of the twelve people on the Bridge were staring just as hard and just as long, with just as much drool. Well, for the males anyway.

Kathryn Janeway stood there in a form-fitting gray-white outfit. Sterile looking stitched white pants that hugged the womanly curves of her legs, her feet clothed in standard issue, but gray, boots, and a blue-gray low cut top that both conformed and hung loose as necessary on her upper torso. She had the sleeves pulled back, but that just somehow added to Kathryn's attractiveness. But that the Captain was out of uniform was not the most shocking thing. Only Harry was old enough to recognize the blush, the eye shadow, the toner, hell even the shade of lipstick! Kathryn Janeway was wearing make-up!

And if he didn't know any better, he'd say that she had done something different with her hair. It was hanging in loose, luxurious locks around her face and shoulders. Somehow it seemed to bring out her angel blue eyes.

'_She's the Captain, she's the Captain, she's the Captain,'_ Harry, and every other male on the Bridge, found himself chanting in his mind as the Commanding officer just stood there in front of the Turbolift, staring back at them.

"Is something the matter Ensign?" Kathryn asked in her "command" voice.

"Uh…no ma'am!" Harry stuttered, wide-eyed. '_I am _so _glad I don't need to breathe,'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Good," she said with satisfaction, walking around the Bridge to in front of the command chair. When she was in front of Harry, after walking with an extra sway to her hips, she couldn't help smiling up at the souled vampire.

'_Goddess, I forgot what this felt like,'_ Kathryn thought to herself feeling the undeniable thrill of having every male eye on her in hormonal lust and every female on her in petty jealousy or outright disgust at her being prettier than them.

"Mind if I sit here Harry?" Kathryn asked nonchalantly as she sat down in the Command chair.

The vampire didn't know how to respond to that so he just stood there, flabbergasted, his mouth hanging open as he mumbled some inarticulate response and then just walked stiffly back to his normal station at Operations.

A few minutes later, Tom Paris and Commander Chakotay arrived on the Bridge. Both, especially Tom, instantly caught the different scent in the air. "What the hell is that?" Tom blurted without even thinking.

Chakotay instantly identified and focused on the source of the strange scent. And then he joined all the other males in the room in shock. Kathryn was sitting as she normally did, with her legs crossed comfortably as she stared at the star field displayed on the Main View screen. But again, what caused them to stare was more the sudden change their Captain seemed to have gone through, quite literally overnight.

Chakotay slowly approached his Captain and then cautiously called her name, attempting to confirm that who it was…truly was. "Kathryn?" he whispered almost under his breath. She turned to look back at him and smiled brightly

"Good morning Chakotay, I hope you slept well," the woman that looked like Kathryn Janeway answered in an almost bubbly voice. Suddenly Kathryn's smile seemed to become more mischievous as she whispered where only he should have heard it, "And I trust you had a pleasant afternoon yesterday as well."

Blushing, Chakotay quickly sat down in his normal seat to the left of the Captain. "I, uh, I had a fine afternoon yesterday. And I had a good enough sleep if you must know. No nightmares in any case."

Kathryn smiled brightly at him and patted him good-naturedly on the knee. "Good. Personally I really hate nightmares, but you can't dispute their purpose. Then there are the whole prophecy nightmare visions and those are never fun. But you've gone on vision quests before so I guess you can see where those are useful as well. Do you think this is a good color on me?"

"Excuse me?" the Commander asked in complete confusion and shock.

Kathryn picked at her blue-gray shirt. "Do you think it's a good color? Everyone's been staring at me since I stepped onto the Bridge, and at first it was kinda fun, but now I'm beginning to wonder if this makes me look too fat or if its just not my color or what!"

"Uh, you look fine Captain."

Janeway unprofessionally snorted at the use of title. "I'm not on duty Chakotay, please, call me Kathryn. My duty shift doesn't even start until two hours from now. Do you think B'Elanna's in Engineering by now?"

Chakotay couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly went back to his feet and looked sharply at the Captain. "May I speak with you privately in your Ready Room Captain?"

"Sure you can," Kathryn stood up and just as she was leaning forward, Tom was just bending over to sit down in his seat at conn. Completely out of place and completely unprecedented until now, a wolf whistle sounded out on the Bridge of USS _Voyager_. "By the Goddess Tom, I can see what your wife must have first seen. Very cute," and when the pilot turned around, complete shock on his face, Kathryn just winked at him and followed Chakotay into the Ready Room.

Once the doors had closed, before Chakotay could even open his mouth, Kathryn ordered the computer, "Computer, sound proof this room please," the customary computer beep shortly followed.

Frowning in further confusion, Chakotay asked in his normal soft voice, "What was that for?"

Kathryn shrugged. "For what you're about to say next," she supplied with a knowing and somewhat annoying grin. Chakotay deepened his frown and nodded in agreement with the tactic. Then he lost all semblance of "cool."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" Chakotay shouted at the top capacity of human lungs.

Kathryn remained unfazed and shrugged once again. "I'm sorry Commander, I haven't the faintest clue as to what you are referring." She then added that annoying grin.

If the Commander of the USS _Voyager_ could ever growl, he would be doing it now. "What the hell do you think you are doing? You aren't in uniform, you make inappropriate remarks and gestures to _your_ crew, and…are you wearing make-up?" the Commander shouted, but not as loud as the first instant.

Kathryn smiled brightly and lifted her hands to her cheeks. "Oh you noticed? Do you like it? I thought the peach might not be my color, so I went with pink. Speaking of noticing things, how did your date with Seven go yesterday?"

If Chakotay didn't know any better, he'd say that the Captain, a woman that he had known on almost near-intimate terms, as much as a Captain and a First Officer ever get, for almost seven years now, was trying to _gossip_ with him! Well he wasn't about to have any of that!

"Captain," Chakotay tried to begin, "Kathryn, I don't know what is going on but ever since we came across that creature in space…Sull—"

"Don't say that name in my presence. Ever." Kathryn's face and voice were both extremely dark with equally dark emotions when she spoke. That was when he knew that she was still his Captain, and more or less in her right mind…but the clothes, the behavior…the _make-up_!

"I apologize Captain," Chakotay apologized.

Kathryn just shrugged once again, but didn't go back to her "happy-go-lucky" demeanor, rather she seemed much subdued after Chakotay's near-mention of the enemy that had obviously hurt Janeway a great deal. "It's all right Chakotay. And call me Kathryn when I'm not in that stuffy uniform. Like I said, my duty-shift doesn't even start for another two hours Commander. And I didn't think it appropriate for me to go out in my nightgown, so that is why I am 'out of uniform'. As for why I was on the Bridge, I figured that the crew would like to get underway again as soon as possible, so rather than make everybody wait until my duty-shift came around, I thought that I might as well go ahead and release the ship. Do you think B'Elanna's in Engineering by now?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Chakotay asked with a shrug.

Kathryn's annoying grin returned suddenly and she shrugged back at him. "You didn't think that I just waved my arms and suddenly we were unfrozen, did you? We have to actually break free of a confinement field here. Now I can definitely build up enough power for it, but a side effect is that the engines are going to be put under a lot of strain, and I'm going to need B'Elanna to make sure that the warp core doesn't explode. Now, other than my casual appearance, which you will be seeing a lot more of in my off-duty hours I might add, do you have anymore questions Chakotay?"

Chakotay stared evenly into his Captain's eyes for several moments before nodding and answering, "No, no more questions. I'm sorry for shouting…Kathryn."

"Not a problem," Kathryn waved off the apology. "Now, shall we go ahead and get this ship underway, or do you actually want to wait the next few hours until I'm on-duty?"

Chakotay laughed heartily and nodded to conceit. "Let's go find out if our Chief Engineer has made it to her post yet," Chakotay suggested as they made their way out of the Ready room onto the Bridge once more.

Everyone stared in mutual confusion and wonderment as the two commanding officers stepped out of the Ready-room, though the captain was still in her "civvies", both looked a great deal calmer than when they went in.

Kathryn walked to the space directly in front of the command chair, stared for a couple moments at it, and then just smiled and turned around. She then tapped her commbadge and spoke, "Janeway to Torres, B'Elanna, would you please report to Engineering."

"Already there Captain. I trust this is about getting the ship out of here?" answered the Engineer over the comm.

Kathryn smiled warmly and nodded while saying, "Yep. I need you to monitor the warp core. Things are going to get bumpy for a bit, and I need you to keep things cool down there. What I'm about to do will tax the engines a great deal, but it'll get us moving again. So be ready for anything."

"Aye Captain," B'Elanna replied and cut the link from her end.

Kathryn looked like she was about to protest again, but as Lieutenant Torres had already cut the transmission; she just let it go. Taking a deep breath, she quickly centered herself and focused her mind, her heart, and her magic on the upcoming task. Once she was centered, she quickly found the magic ever residing at the core of her being, and pulled it forth with her will, her heart.

Once her power was tapped, it was as simple as focusing her mind properly on both her surroundings and on the universe itself. She quickly identified the spell she had placed the ship under and identified the seven primary points of it, what was holding and keeping the spell together. It would be difficult, but that's how she had designed this spell to be, but she would have to destroy all seven points simultaneously, and at the same time cast a very powerful "traveling spell" (the best word for it as it was actually a Bajoran spell [long story] and for what it did as well) to keep the ship from being destroyed by the warping space they would leave behind.

Thinking on it now, Kathryn realized she might have understated a bit when she told B'Elanna that "things were going to get a bit bumpy". The trip that had stranded them in the Delta Quadrant might as well be called the vibration of the deck plates from the engines in comparison. At least from her past experiences with this spell.

Focusing her energies, Kathryn began chanting in no less than three different voices, yet her mouth was moving as if only one. The Bajoran chant, the spell of destruction, and the reverse of the "trap" spell she had placed the ship under.

Her eyes began to glow a bright green as the energy coursed through her, directed by the chanting. And then…

_**BAM**__! _

Just like that, the trap spell was destroyed with a concussion of magical energy, and the space around the ship began to distort as it contracted from the explosion, but then distorted even further as in the next moment, the traveling spell was completed, and it was like when Kes had flung them past Borg space all over again.

Kathryn was the only one to remain as she stood, still chanting and directing the ship, and praying to the Goddess that B'Elanna managed to hold the engines together long enough for them to make it to where Kathryn was sending them.

"What the _hell_ is the Captain doing?" B'Elanna screamed as she held onto the terminal for dear life. She was trying everything possible to both understand what was happening, and keeping her engines from overheating. She had already opened the plasma ports to maximum and was running extra coolant, and had the magnetic constrictors to over 200% maximum!

She increased power to structural integrity from any systems available, of which Engineering was _not_ one, when she noticed that the hull was beginning to strain and lose integrity. Shields were completely useless at this speed, but they did manage to hold back on the worst of the friction, so she made sure they remained up, even if not at maximum strength.

Finally, it all seemed to come to some sort of stop, but the engines were still going hot, and when B'Elanna managed to get herself to her feet and read the speed gauge, she felt like going back to the floor. Warp _9.9979_! And rising!

B'Elanna near slammed her commbadge, almost smashing the small piece of technology. "CAPTAIN! What _********_ are you doing?" the half-Klingon shouted into the communicator.

END?


End file.
